Jim's Beer Kit

Practical Homebrewing

Learn How to Home Brew at Jim's

Welcome to Jim's Beer Kit!

Hi, I'm Jim Dunleavy, an enthusiastic home brewer from Washington, England; a warm welcome to the site!

This site will show you how to brew your own beer and caters for
beginners, intermediate and advanced brewers. You can get quick answers to
all your
brewing questions on
Jim's Homebrew Forum, one of the top homebrew forums on the internet
for brewers of British Ales and the core resource on this website. Forum members
come from all over the world and include beginners, seasoned home
brewers and professional brewers. We're a
friendly bunch on there and you'll be made very welcome if you decide to join.
As well as the brewing forums, we have our own 'Tap Room' where
virtually any topic can be discussed, and usually is!

The basic ingredients for brewing beer are malt, hops, water and
yeast, but there are several ways you can approach brewing at home.
Instructions for all the popular methods can be found on the site. There
are also sections to help you understand what equipment you need and how
to make it yourself, and articles that delve deeper into the theory of
brewing, if you're that way inclined.

Official Jim's Beer Kit Merchandise

If you're already a fan of JBK, why not have a look at our range of
branded merchandise on sale from SpreadShirt?
Official JBK Shop. To see current special offers have a look here.

What's on the Site?

Step by step instructions to brew beers using the most popular home brew systems: Beer Kits, Malt Extract, and
Grain Brewing (aka Mashing or All Grain). There's a section on the forum
for other brews, such as wine making and cider making. And if you're
into cider, don't miss Jean-Yves Jacob's article on Breton Cider Making
on the 'Extras' tab.

Also on the extras tab are brewing calculators and articles about
making your own equipment, water treatment etc.

Popular Home Brewing Methods

Beer Kits are the easiest and quickest method of all requiring only the bare minimum of
equipment. With kits you are largely
dependent on the manufacturer of the kit for the style and flavour, but there is still scope for
customising the brew to your own taste adding extra ingredients, by dry
hopping and by using specialist brewing yeast. If you use a good quality kit
and follow sound brewing practices, you can make quality beer.

Grain Brewing (sometimes
known as 'full mash') is the method used by professional brewers. Of the
techniques described here it is the most demanding in terms of equipment,
knowledge and time - but if you want to make a beer that rivals (or even
surpasses) good commercial real ales, this is the best way to do it.

My Home Brew Set Up

I make grain beers - the traditional system used by commercial breweries for centuries; it allows me to make
high quality beers that I'm proud to serve up to my family and friends. You can
see my set up in the grain brewing section of the site, though like most
brewers' set ups, mine is evolving all the time.

I prefer traditional English style beer, now commonly known as 'Real Ale' (presumably to distinguish it from the more or
less 'Unreal Ale' which is often served up in pubs these days). You will find information on brewing almost any type of beer on the site, though.

I hope you enjoy the site and Happy Brewing!

Enjoy Your Beer Sensibly

Home brew is cheap; your liver doesn't know that
though, so always be aware of the health risks of drinking too much
alcohol. For me, quality is more important than quantity - if you make
quality beer, savour it; don't just chuck it down your neck!